Organizational Leadership

Organizational Leadership Certificate Overview

Target Your Organizational Leadership

The Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership is an online, 18-credit certificate that focuses on developing management and leadership skills and transforming students into strategic leaders. The certificate consists of six graduate online organizational leadership courses and is designed for professionals currently working in or aspiring to work in managerial positions in corporate, nonprofit or governmental organizations.

The certificate merges theory and practice to help mid-level career professionals obtain the skills, knowledge, qualifications and confidence to advance their career and leadership opportunities. Students in the online Organizational Leadership certificate have the opportunity to:

Develop critical thinking skills and creative abilities

Enhance organizational dynamics

Broaden knowledge of business trends

Enhance their ability to set strategic objectives

Manage cross-cultural teams

Resolve workplace conflicts

Pursue strategic alliances

The online Organizational Leadership Certificate is a great option for students who want to further their education at the graduate level or for fully-employed individuals interested in career advancement or professional development.

Students seeking a certificate program may apply for financial aid.

Organizational Leadership Certificate Goals and Objectives

Successful certificate graduates will:

Develop foundational notions of ethical leadership with a focus on Lasallian and Servant Leadership

Recognize and appreciate the role of leadership in shaping organizational culture with particular emphasis on diversity, participative management, and self-reflection

Understand foundational leadership theories and leadership as a psycho-social phenomenon

Use critical thinking and decision making skills to enhance leadership and organizational effectiveness

Successful certificate graduates will be able to:

Demonstrate in case studies how to make decisions and take actions that are grounded in ethical principles and mindful of the potential impact on followers

Develop strategies intended to influence others in an organization to exceed expectations and embrace efforts to improve policies and procedures

Demonstrate how to apply models to the practice of leadership in organizational change, conflict management, and team building

This certificate program consists of six graduate online courses and is designed for working professionals.

Graduate Certificate Core Courses (6 credits)

ORGL-50900 Leadership: Theories, Practices and Context (3 credits)This course provides an analysis of foundational theories and practices of leadership, emphasizing the application of theoretical concepts to real-life leadership situations. Also examined are the impact of organizational history and structure on today's leadership challenges. Psychometric instruments used in this course: Big Five Personality Test, Type A, Locus of Control, Machiavelli Scale, Emotional Intelligence, modified MBTI, Self-Monitoring, Narcissism.

ORGL-51200 Assessing Leadership Skills (3 credits)This course provides extensive opportunity for self-assessment and discovery of leadership abilities, as well as communication, decision-making and learning styles. It explores personality theories, key contributors and factors, including personal and professional experiences, values and attitudes. Course provides students with the opportunity to discover, discuss and analyze their leadership style utilizing several inventories for identifying leadership competencies. Focus is on applying various instruments to assess effectiveness of personal, interpersonal and organizational leadership styles. Psychometric instruments used in this course: MBTI, Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTSII), FIRO-B, Rath StrengthsFinder.

Graduate Certificate Concentration Courses (12 credits)

ORGL-52400 Leading Change (3 credits)This course engages students in their discovery of skills, practices and theories related to organizational change. Students will identify key factors influencing organizational change, learn skills to minimize resistance to change and analyze key competencies of effective change leaders. Case studies will be examined as the course compares/contrasts different change models and distinguishes key success factors in making change efforts last within our organizations. Using their newly learned resources, students will develop a change leadership "roadmap" that integrates key learning objectives and demonstrates their success as a change leader. Psychometric instruments used in this course include: Tolerance for Ambiguity Scale, Big Five Personality Test.

ORGL-53600 Ethics, Integrity and Social Responsibility (3 credits)This course will engage students in the discussion of ethics, studying how personal values, ethical models and reflective processes shape our ethical decision making in a leadership context. Discussions and study will be grounded in western philosophical thought, organizational and societal moral realities including social responsibility with special attention to servant leadership. Research will focus on ethical leadership, its importance and how leaders/learners can continue to integrate ethics into their own leadership stance. Psychometric instruments used in this course: Organizational Culture Ethical Index (OCEI), Leadership Preference Continuum (LPC).

ORGL-53900 Conflict Management (3 credits)Content of the course will focus both on cognitive skills (knowledge of the theories and strategies) and behavioral skills (enacting various strategies). The course also includes assessment tools whereby students can gain a greater understanding of their usual strategy along with its strengths and weaknesses. Critical thinking skills must be applied in the course. A mark of a leader is the ability to know when to go against prevailing thinking. So, while various "lists" may be introduced during the course, students are expected to challenge those lists and ascertain what is valuable in them and what is not. The course is not designed to resolve all conflicts. Using real life case studies, this course explores the theories, practices and issues involved in managing conflict in interpersonal and intergroup settings. Also discussed are methods available to leaders to use conflict to advance their organization. Psychometric instrument used in this course: Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument.

ORGL-55500 Psychology of Motivation (3 credits)This course examines contemporary approaches to motivation and the design and implementation of motivational strategies for effective individual and group performance. Students will review the work of theorists such as Hertzberg, Hackman and Oldham, Deci and Ryan, as well as emerging models of workplace motivation. Psychometric instrument used in this course: Rath StrengthsFinder.

Learn More

Take the next step toward discovering your true leadership abilities with Lewis University's Organizational Leadership Certificate, available online and on-campus. Call (866) 967-7046 to speak with a Graduate Admissions Counselor or click here to request more information.